
Microsoft has released 'BASIC for 6502 Microprocessor - Version 1.1' on Github, under the MIT license. Now anyone is free to go and download, modify, share, and even resell source code originally crafted by Bill Gates. This is a hugely significant code release, as close derivatives of this BASIC ended up at the heart of several iconic computers, including the best-selling computer of all time, the Commodore 64.
The Microsoft Blog provides a potted history of its BASIC, sharing some important facts. Microsoft BASIC was the firm’s first product, and started out as a BASIC language interpreter for the Intel 8080, written by Bill Gates and Paul Allen for the Altair 8800, in 1975.